


Sticks and Straw

by canadino



Series: ABO Verse - Altered Rules [5]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Nesting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 06:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18138758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canadino/pseuds/canadino
Summary: Preparing a home and looking for security.





	Sticks and Straw

Mastery of multiple faces was crucial to surviving and thriving in a dynamic office business space. Midorima did not agree with those who scorned the practice, calling it disingenuine or trickery - after all, it was common sense that there was a time and a place for different responses and reactions to situations. “Midorima, please report out on the most recently completed quarter’s summary.”

“Of course.” He delivered his updates succinctly and earnestly. 

“Thank you. Good work, as always.” 

“Yikes,” Takao said, drawing it out in the melodramatic way he liked. Midorima frowned as he felt the man elbow him in the ribs playfully. “Whew! Cut the tension with a knife, know what I mean!”

“What on earth are you rambling on about now, Takao?”

Takao gazed at him meaningfully as they walked back to their side of the floor, the meeting room slowly clearing out as others lingered to chat or gather their belongings. “You and the manager are fighting, aren’t you?”

“And what would give you that idea?”

Takao shrugged. “I can just feel it. I’ve worked with you guys for so long, you know? There’s just…” He wiggled his fingers in the air, mimicking spasms of energy. Midorima wondered if Takao’s friends were equally exhausting - and exhausted, with the way he preferred to talk with his body. Perhaps they all gestured emphatically during meetups together? “You can feel it. There’s something off. What did you disagree about?”

“It’s none of your business.” Midorima swept into his office, hoping to end the conversation, but Takao followed him in like a duckling to its mother. “Surely we did not sound as if we scorned the other; I try to keep my private life private.” He enunciated the last word to make it extra clear, but Takao didn’t seem to pick up on the cue. 

“Oh, no, nothing like that...you guys sounded perfectly normal. But that’s the thing. It felt like…” Takao helped himself to one of the seats in front of Midorima’s desk, bringing a foot up to one knee and leaning back as if he didn’t have an inbox full of work to do for the day. “I would say, it would be like two people who don’t know each other. Very polite, working to make it look like they’re totally fine with everything.”

“Everything is fine, Takao. Your concern is appreciated.”

“Hmm,” Takao hummed. 

“Midorima.” Akashi appeared at the door, his back straight and his chin raised, holding his laptop computer against his chest like a regal shield. “Good work, again.” He glanced at Takao, who grinned, and he smiled back. “Thank you for your work as well, Takao. I know you do much to keep this department running as well as it does.”

“I sure do! Why don’t you tell this prickly cactus to give me a raise during the next annual review?”

“I fail to see how you are earning your keep around here at the moment,” Midorima said. He turned back to Akashi, who was still lingering at the door. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Akashi?”

“Oh, no. I will be approving the quarterly report shortly, as that meeting went very smoothly.” He paused, the gap between his sentences making Midorima’s fingers twitch. “If you need me later this afternoon, do speak with my secretary; I’ll be leaving after my last meeting for the day.” Akashi offered a wane smile and continued on his way to his office.

Takao turned to Midorima with over-exaggerated intrigue. “Someone’d better apologize soon,” he said, raising his eyebrows. 

“Get out of my office. If you need work to do, I have plenty to allocate.”

“Wow! I never said you were the one in the wrong!”

Nonetheless, Akashi deciding to leave early was unusual in and of itself. Akashi was one to stick until the very end, rarely allowing discomfort or illness keep him from doing his duty to his team and to the company; Midorima thought, barring physical incapacity, Akashi might work through headaches and fevers and heats without batting an eye. But Akashi was in between heats, and he did not sense any stray pheromone coming from his superior. Midorima had found, as Akashi’s longtime partner, that despite inhibitors, he could sense when Akashi was beginning his heats. Akashi no longer took heat suppressants, but he did take something to prevent pheromone release; in the privacy of their own homes, Midorima took in the spicy floral scent that sparked electricity in the space between his eyes, but in the office or in public, he could feel just the demeanor around Akashi change and an invisible pull that made his chest tighten. He had felt no such thing during the meeting or when Akashi stopped by his office. 

Akashi’s office was dark when he passed, the door closed. “When did Akashi go home?” he asked Reo. 

“About two hours ago,” Reo sighed. “Leaving little ol’ me to rearrange the rest of his schedule! He was supposed to meet with some higher-ups with his father later tonight, but I needed to decline on his behalf, but of course, his father would not have it without it being rescheduled, so I’ve had to coordinate that, and also he left before authorizing several timecards, so I’ve had to go through each one for finance…”

“He forgot to approve timesheets?” That was unlike Akashi.

“Yes...well, we all make mistakes, don’t we?” Reo’s eyes turned steely, the perceived criticism of his darling superior a personal affront. “He’s got a lot on his plate, of course, and maybe it isn’t obvious to everyone, but he wasn’t feeling well today--”

“He’s sick?”

“Well…” Reo frowned. “Well...he didn’t tell me explicitly, but some things you just know!”

“I understand. I knew something was off today as well.”

Midorima did not work with Reo much, preferring to directly speak to Akashi if he needed to. Reo’s desk was not facing Akashi’s office, so he would not have known that Midorima was a regular visitor to the manager’s office. He doubted Akashi would discuss frankly any interdepartmental affairs with his secretary. Reo looked at him skeptically. “Yes...if you need anything from him, I’d let him know tomorrow.”

“Yes, thank you. Akashi’s lucky to have a capable secretary.” The praise was enough to make Reo’s demeanor change, although his face fought to keep impartial. 

Akashi did not answer his phone when he called, nor did he respond to the various messages he sent. Suppose Akashi really was ill, and he had been curt or at least did not notice that he was under the weather? They were fighting, yes, but no disagreement was significant enough that he would disregard Akashi’s wellbeing. Perhaps Akashi would turn him away or scold him, but Midorima stopped by the grocery store on the way to Akashi’s apartment, picking up some ingredients for a simple rice gruel and medicine for colds. He waited for a rebuke to his advances as he paged Akashi’s apartment in the lobby, and he let himself in when it was ignored. Maybe Akashi was not physically sick, and he might have gone elsewhere to get his mind off their argument and away from him. The thought made his stomach turn, Akashi meeting with someone else and taking him up on his offer, thrown out in a moment of passion, that they take a break and see other people. In any case, Midorima thought, the elevator’s music doing nothing to soothe him, Akashi would appreciate a home-cooked meal on his return regardless. It was what a friend would do, in any case. 

He knocked on the door, and it remained closed. Letting himself in with his copy of the card key, Midorima noticed the shoes Akashi had worn to work in the foyer. So Akashi was home; but the living room and kitchen were dark and deserted. It was completely silent in the apartment. “Akashi?” Admittedly, his voice was hushed, feeling too awkward to break the blanket of quiet. He began unpacking the groceries he had bought when he realized that if Akashi really was out of commission, it would be in his best interest to check on his condition. The bathroom was empty, as was the personal office. 

Midorima found Akashi in his bedroom, the door slightly ajar but not completely closed. The light on the table across the room was on, casting soft shadows on the bed. Akashi was curled up in the middle, surrounded by pillows and clothing, and he was swaddled in a blanket. Akashi tended to run hot, so he liked his bed fairly devoid of extra things; Midorima quickly came up to his side and felt his temples. They were not hot. Akashi’s breathing was regular, soft, asleep. Up close, Midorima could now discern what was scattered around Akashi’s huddled frame: he was under his comforter, which was under a fleece throw that Midorima had brought over from his house when the power had gone out a few months ago and had never bothered to take back home. There were several of his shirts, mostly scattered around Akashi’s head. The two decorative pillows from the latest Verde line that Hotari had given him for his birthday were nestled behind his back. A photo of Akashi’s mother, which Midorima had recognized from a cabinet in the living room, was just out of reach of Akashi’s hand, no doubt let go when sleep took over. A scarf that Seijuro had left behind was tangled at his feet, along with a couple of ties; one, Midorima remembered, was one that Masaomi had given him when he had been promoted. The ties were rather old-fashioned, picked out diligently by fretting older man. 

Their arguments made both of them upset, but this was the longest they had gone without reconciliation. They were both equally stubborn, and in his heart of hearts, Midorima knew who was right, though this was not absolutely cut and dry. He had heard of Omegas nesting, though primarily in the context of early and late stage pregnancies, and Akashi was still on birth control. Midorima himself had missed seeing Akashi more frequently, though he had assumed Akashi maintained his cool disposition even at home, as Akashi was rather restrained when it came to displays of affection. Seeing him nest was both heartwarming and heart wrenching. 

Akashi stirred, first reaching for his mother’s picture and pulling it into his chest instinctively. When he opened his eyes, he showed no surprise at Midorima lying next to him. “Hello,” he murmured.

“Hi.” Midorima was running his hand through Akashi’s hair, gently rubbing his scalp in the way he knew Akashi found calming. “Sorry if you didn’t want to be disturbed; I’m not sure if nesting is a private thing or not. I can leave.”

“No. Stay.” Akashi closed his eyes again, wiggling closer so they were fitted together. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong too.” The fleece blanket was making the bed very toasty. “I bought things to make food with; I wasn’t sure if you were sick or not, and I know you don’t tend to keep many perishables in the house, and I thought you’d want something fresh if you weren’t feeling well…”

“Later. I want to lie here for a bit longer, with you.” 

“Alright.” There were a lot of things Midorima thought about, from Takao picking up on their moods to Reo’s long suffering services to how Seijuro had complained loudly about losing his favorite scarf and then never mentioning it again after coming to work in a thick blue new one, one which uncannily matched the one that Aomine Daiki owned. But all that could wait. Everything on the bed might be put away again, but the warmth between them was something they could rely on during the coldest nights. Midorima felt Akashi relax in his arms, and he felt his own bones grow soft as he drifted to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> BACK on my akamido bullshit. It's been a while, but this ship still holds a special place in my heart. I recently read something about omega nesting, which I'd never considered, and I'd been wanting to write something about how these two cope with disagreeing with each other so...in the end, we have tooth-rotting fluff. Thanks again for reading!


End file.
